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Synonyms

expansive

American  
[ik-span-siv] / ɪkˈspæn sɪv /

adjective

  1. having a wide range or extent; comprehensive; extensive.

    expansive mountain scenery.

  2. (of a person's character or speech) effusive, unrestrained, free, or open.

    Our expansive host welcomed us warmly.

    Synonyms:
    gushing, gushy, unreserved, genial, outgoing, extroverted, sociable
  3. tending to expand or capable of expanding.

  4. causing expansion.

    the expansive force of heat.

  5. working by expansion, as an engine.

  6. Psychiatry. marked by an abnormal euphoric state and by delusions of grandeur.


expansive British  
/ ɪkˈspænsɪv /

adjective

  1. able or tending to expand or characterized by expansion

  2. wide; extensive

  3. friendly, open, or talkative

    an expansive person

  4. grand or extravagant

    an expansive way of life

  5. psychiatry lacking restraint in the expression of feelings, esp in having delusions of grandeur or being inclined to overvalue oneself or one's work

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • expansively adverb
  • expansiveness noun
  • nonexpansive adjective
  • nonexpansiveness noun
  • overexpansive adjective
  • overexpansiveness noun
  • unexpansive adjective
  • unexpansiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of expansive

First recorded in 1645–55; expans(ion) + -ive

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Among its more impressive features are an extraordinary great room with a 30-foot ceiling, as well as an expansive primary suite that boasts a sitting room, balcony, enormous walk-in closet, and two bathrooms.

From MarketWatch

Its rigorous order and deep perspective, enhanced by the receding lines of ship masts and rail tracks along the expansive quay, address his motif in a style apropos of its modern subject.

From The Wall Street Journal

In 2014, Rivera-Amador and Hollinquest founded the Radical Monarchs in Oakland — giving girls and gender expansive youth of color ages 8 through 13 a safe space to practice self-love, sisterhood and activism.

From Los Angeles Times

One major reason for the expansive search is that the shale boom that turned the U.S. into the world’s largest oil producer could be slowing.

From Barron's

One major reason for the expansive search is that the shale boom that turned the U.S. into the world’s largest oil producer could be slowing.

From Barron's